IELTS - General Training

"For immigration purpose."

The General Training format focuses on basic survival skills in broad social and workplace contexts. It is typically for those who are going to English-speaking countries to do for immigration, settlements, work experience or training programs. People migrating to Australia, Canada and New Zealand must sit in the General Training test Module.
GT modules are in four parts;-listening, reading, writing and speaking modules.

The IELTS General Training Listening Test is the same for the Academic and General Training modules. The candidates will listen to a tape and answer a series of questions. The tape will be played ONCE only. The General Training Listening test is in four sections with 10 questions in each (ie: a total of 40 questions) and will last for about 30 minutes with an extra 10 minutes at the end to transfer answers to the answer sheet.

• The entire listening test consists of 4 sections; you are allowed to hear the tape only once. There are about 40 questions in complete test exam.

• The listening test become more difficult as you progress through the test.

Section 1 is mainly based on social or life situations: for example, a library enrolment form a job application, travel arrangements, visiting a new city or making arrangements to go out. These conversations are between at least two speakers.

Section 2 is also based on social or life situations same as in section 1 but you come across with mix discussions: for example, may be the class discussion is about previous lecture, a news broadcast, job interview or a description of college facilities. This is usually a passage with only two to three people conversation.

Section 3 becomes harder it is usually based on education related as well as training situations: for example, a small group of students planning a new project, a tutor and a student discussing about career options. This is often a logical conversation two or three speakers are involved.

Spelling is one of important part in the Listening test module, you must spell words correctly when they are spelt out for you on the tape recording.

Section 4 is always based on educational training or research based presentation, where the candidate faces more difficulties: for example, a lecture or a talk of generalacademic interests.

Your answers need to be legible and clear to understand, they must be able to be read. This applies to all the typesof answers you give: letters, names, numbers and phrases.

You should write your answers on the question paper booklet as you do the Listening test module, when listening iscompleted then you have 10 minutes to transfer your answers carefully onto the Answer Sheet provided. Make surethat each answer is transferred accurately and is legible for the examiners.

A variety of question types is used in the General Training Listening Test. Questions types that you will see will usually come from the following list:

This is 1 hour test divided in 3 sections with 40 questions based on 1 or more reading texts per section. The length of the General Training Reading Test will be between 2000 and 2750 words. Candidates are given a question paper and an answer paper. They may write on the question paper but they may not remove it from the test room after the test. All answers must be put onto the reading answer sheet before the end of the hour – there is no extra time after the 1 hour set for the General Training Reading Test for the transfer of answers to the answer paper.

A variety of question types are used in the General Training Reading Test. Questions types that you will use will come from the following list:

multiple choice

short answer

sentence completion

notes/summary/diagram/flow chart completion

choosing from a heading bank to identify paragraphs or parts of the text

identification of writers opinions/ideas – yes/no/not given

identification of information in the text – yes/no/not given OR true/false/not given

The first section is concerned with social survival in an English speaking country. The second section is concerned with survival in an education, training or welfare context. The third section tests the candidates’ abilities with a longer more complex text.

The IELTS General Training Speaking Test is the same for both the Academic and General Training modules. The test is conducted with 1 examiner and 1 candidate. The Speaking test is recorded. The General Training Speaking Test is divided into 3 sections.

Section 1 The General Training Speaking Test Section 1 begins with some general introductory questions. This is followed by some questions on personal information similar to the type of questions one would ask when meeting someone for the first time. Finally the examiner asks a series of questions of 2 topics of general interest. (4 – 5 minutes)

Section 2 The General Training Speaking Test Section 2 is a monologue (1 person speaking) by the candidate. The examiner will give the candidate a card with a subject and a few guiding questions on it. The student must talk for 2 minutes on this subject/topic. The examiner decides on the exact length. The student has an optional 1 minute in order to prepare for his talk and is provided with some paper and a pencil in order to make some brief notes. After the candidate’s talk the examiner will ask 1 or 2 brief questions in order to finish off the section. (3 – 4 minutes)

Section 3 In the General Training Speaking Test the examiner will ask some more questions generally related to the subject spoken about in section 2. These questions will be more demanding and require some critical analysis on the part of the candidate. (4 – 5 minutes)